Game.



JULI H. CORNING, 0F MATTOON; ILLINOIS.

manioc.'

To all whom t may concern f Be it known that I, JULIA II. CQRNING, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Mattoon, in the county of Coles and State of ,f Illinois, have invented a new and useful Game; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others /skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a game apparatus, and as an object of the invention it is the aimu to provide an improved gameboard to be used incombination with a multiplicity .of men or checkers, the men or checkers to be moved in such Wise onthe board, in order to create amusement and excitement for the players.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved gameboard having a central goal or home, surrounding which and spaced apart therefrom is an angular circuit or pathway divided into spaces vor blocks to be counted` in moving the men or checkers about the circuit, there being roadways or leads from the circuit to the goal or home.

The object of said 4leads or roadways is that after aman or a series of men has entered the circuit, to allow one after the other to enter the goal, and the player who first brings all his men or checkers 'to the goal or home wins the game. i

Another object of the invention istdpro vide the circuit or angular. outlined pathway with a series of laterallyA extending roads orleads, some extending toward the goal or home, but notinto the same, and others extending in the opposite direction. In this type of game apparatus, these leads or lati eral roads may be termed switches onto any one of which a player may move a man or checker., that is when the player when moving. a man places the man orv checker von a circle of one of the spaces or blocks of the main circuit with another man of the samecolor. In other wrds, when two men of A the same color reach a space or block of the main.. circuit, which block or space is prov1ded with a clrcle, the movlng man or checker may enter one of the switches, by

, reason of the fact that one man or checker cannot pass another lof the same color.` By this method a player is allowed to block his opponent, and the essential object of the game is to block the opponent from advancing whenever possible, by getting two men specificationl of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr., 20H9, lllll,

Application filed January 16, 1915. Serial No. 2,63%.

or checkers on the same space, that is a space without a circle, and also i ponents on the switches.

't In practical fields the details of construct1on may necessitate alterations falling within the scope of what is claimed.

to keep the op- 'Ihe invention comprises further features land combinations of parts, as hereinafter set forth, shown in the drawings, and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure l is a plan View contour, upon the face of which an angular outlined pathway or main circuit 2 is provided. 'This circuitl orpathway is divided into a plurality ofspaces or blocks 3, substantially every three blocks of which a circular space 4 is provided. Arranged centrally of the angular main circuit or pathi way is what .may be termed a goal or home 5, and leading from .thecorners of the angular main circuit into the goal or home are four roadways or leads 6,- which are also divided or marked into spaces or blocks 7. lllxtending from the corners of the angular main circuit are extension pathways lor leads 8 divided or marked into spaces a, b, c, and d, the space a constituting a starting space, and which 'space is first counted, when a player throws his dice. For instance, ifthe player in throwing his dice makes four, the player enters'v his first man and counts the four spaces on the start-` ing lead or pathway. However, if the player should make six, the first four spaces on thev lead or pathway 8 is counted andtwospaces on the main' circuit, ymoving towardA the right. Extending from the main circuit toward, but not into the goal, is a series of 'lateral leads or pathways 9, which are divided into spaces or blocks 10. Leading laterally from the main circuit or main line in a direction opposite to the leads or pathways 9 are leads or pathways l1, which are also divided into spaces or blocks 12.

The object of the game is to see'which player can get each and every man to the circle marked Home or Goal, a'fter -having madea complete circuit of the main line, so indicated on the gameboard, without missing any of the spaces or blocks. The spaces a, c, and d are only used for each individual player to start his men, and no other player is allowed to move his men upon the opponents starting spaces.

'.lhespaces marked, Only for home run or Only for goal run are used by the players, one for each player, enabling the men to reach the home or goal as a finish, after having made the main circuit. However, 'each player is allowed to count the space 12 having the circuit 13 thereon of an opponent, in passing from one main line or circuit to the other, owing to the fact that each player must move a man from one mainline to the other. l

ln starting the game each player is pro.- vided with eight men, a dice boX and a single dice. The men with which the game is played may be ,as shown in Fig. 2 (which is arepresentation of a soldier or the like mounted upon a checker) or as shown in Fig. 3, which is merely a plain checker. However, as far as the game is concerned, there is no distinction between the men as shown in Fig. 2, or the -checkers as shown in Fig. 3, and if desired, other forms of checkers or men ,or the like 'may be employed, just so each player is supplied with eight men, checkers or other devices, and the checkers or men of one player are of dilerent colors to the checkers, men or other devices of the other players.

After each player chooses color of men, three of them should be placed upon three of the circles on the main line or circuit to the right as guards. These men are never moved, but remain in the same position throughout the game. This improved game is for four players. After the leader throws the dice, he starts a man on the lead or pathway 8, rst placing the man on the space a, marked Start and counts the number of spaces ,on the board to' correspond with the number on the dice, always moving the man to the right.v Each player starts the same way, in turn, until it comes time'for the leader to throw again The number that shows up on the dice 1s counted from Start, the same as when throwing the irst time, but the player cannot enter two men on one space in starting places marked a, b, c and 0l. Exampleif first number thrown is four, that would place a man on space marked d. Then when throwing the second time if the player should make four, it would cause the second man to reach the same space as the first man, but this cannot be, and Jfor this reason the second 'man could not be played or moved, in which case the first man would be the desired moved ahead four more spaces, and so on until each player has all the men on the board. After all of the men have been entered on the board, then two men can be on one space of the spaces marked a, I), c and d, or one, two, three and four, if the player so wishes. Each player must enter the men on the board as soon as possible. In playing the game, the men of one player may pass any one of the men of the opponent on any one of the spaces of the main line or circuit, but if two men or checkers of the same color happen to be on a circle 4 what is termed a blockade is formed, or even if two men are on one of the spaces, that is, two men of the same color, are on one of the spaces three, a blockade is also formed, which cannot be passed, but theplayer can move on to the nearest switch or by-pass lead, provided such a kmove 'can be accomplished without skippingany spaces. Otherwise, the player forfeits the move.

When one player moves a man on a space with an opponent, the opponent must move back toward the starting point ive spaces, and if in moving back it places the man on a space with the man of another color, that man has to move back five spaces, but if in moving back the space is occupied by the players own man, it does not have to be moved back. If the player in moving back places a man on one of the circles of an opponent, the player is thrown out of the game. However, if the player in moving back reaches a circle on which one of his own men ispositioned, the player stays in the game, or rather keeps his man on the board. In moving back, the player must keep on the main line, and not move onto the switches. In moving men back, and a checker or man comes to the starting place, marked a, b, c and d, or one, two, three and four, the player may move the men on such places, and if the -number to be moved back is larger or greater than the number of spaces between where the man starts to move back and the starting point, the man is thrown out of the game. When two men of one player are on a space together, one of them must be moved, before any of the other men are moved. When a man is on a switch, it must be moved on to the main line before the player moves any of his other men, -unless two of his men are on one space, be moved iirst, and the man. on the switch moved on to the next place.

If in moving straight ahead to the right, a man gets on a circle four with'a man of another color, it throws the player outof the game, that is the player that is moving lbut if in moving the man of your own color on the circle, the player keeps his men on the board.

when one of them must always Lisanne i et The object of each player is to keep his respective men on the main line, and to get all of his men on the main line as soon as possible, and keep them separated as much as possible, in which case the player runs less risk Ain being moved back. lln playing the game, make your chance and block your lined main pathway or circuit and provided centrally of the board with what may be termed a home or goal, said angular pathway or circuit having four starting leads or pathways divided into spaces, said gameboardv being provided with four roads or pathways radiating from home or goal extending into and alined with the starting pathways, said radiating path-or roadway being divided into spaces, said main pathwa or circuit having laterally extending pat ways or leads constituting switches and divided into spaces, some of said switches extending toward home or goal but not into the same, others laterally from the main pathway or circuit in the opposite direction, said main pathway or circuit being divided into spaces, every sixth space of which is provided with a' circle.

ln testimony whereof ll have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JULIA H. CORNlNG. Witnesses:

OLA R. PICKERJLNG, F. N. HENERY. 

